NEW Yao Ming - Interview on Retirement, Life, Rockets, China

There is already another thread that was created and I posted a direct embbed but I think the title wasnt very descriptive so a lot of you may miss this really awesome interview with Yao. Mods feel free to merge.

Yao talks about his life after retirement, getting fat and gaining 20-30lbs (he does look chubby). Also was asked the question if he would ever consider coming back. He didn't get a definite no and even said Doctors said he could still play another 2-3 years but there were no gurantees he would not get hurt again and that his consdiering for his long term health is why he made his decision to retire.

Yao talked about how he definitely didnt live up to his NBA dream of winning a championship and thought how if he was healthy and they could have beat the Lakers that year they had a good chance of going to the finals. He talked about how it was like coming to the NBA and how he was really scared at the airport and even had 2nd thoughts. Talked about his battles against Shaq. A funny side note he talked about there wasn't any big cultural barriers but his translater Collin Pine did use the word "Nei Ge" which just means Ummm in Chinese but sounds like N*g*er and that caused some stares at first till they explained the meaning.

Talked about how he thought his career could have been extended if his national team duties were handled better but said he hopes that he could change and pave the way for future Chinese players. Talked about how it was frustrating when he turned 21 and he wanted to play against the best in the world but because of Chinese politics at the time he wasnt allowed to. But said he just had to wait, be patient and used timing on when to pick his fights.

Anyways a really good interview and really just shows how awesome a person Yao is. I haven't really been following up with him since he retired and since he got injured but just thought this interview was pretty awesome and he offered a lot of insights on not just playing with the Rockets in the NBA but also just about life in general.

Check it out.

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yea Yao genuinely seems like a awesome human being. Love his interviews just because he offers a lot of insight not just on the court but off the court. Love hearing about his relationships with other players, coaches and friendships he's made in the league. I'm glad he will continue to be involved in basketball and the Rockets. He really seems to appreciate everything the Rockets organization has done for him and wants to give back and continue and play a huge role and make a impact.

 

yup didnt know he had the fat genes in him.. guess he does.. he better still work out a bit otherwise that fat photoshop pic of yao might come true.

 

Yup YOFs went ape **** when someone suggested this. Wonder where those YOFs are now that Yao has said it himself